Dominance: Dog training's dirty word

There may be no surer way to stir up a group of dog trainers than to bring up dominance training. Some see value in forcefully letting your dog know who's boss, by pinning him on his back, among other tactics. Others believe the process can be ineffective, and even downright harmful. Regularly scare or physically force your dog into submission and you may well end up with one who's timid or frustrated.

What's flawed about the approach, say critics, is the assumption that your dog wants to dominate you. True, in the absence of obvious leadership, many dogs will step into the role. (Someone's gotta set the rules, right?). But he certainly doesn't sit up nights plotting a hostile takeover. Like people, dogs just want to know where they stand and what's expected of them.

Try benevolent leadership

Many trainers believe there's a much better way to frame your thinking around training--and by "better," we mean humane, rational, and effective. Instead of attempting to dominate your dog, act as a benevolent leader. A benevolent leader uses positive reinforcement, sets clear boundaries, and remains consistent in his rules and expectations.

The result? A benevolent follower, a self-assured, happy dog who listens to and respects (rather than fears) her leader. As leader, it is your job to protect your pet from any form of physical or mental harm--both of which can happen in some types of dominance training. So don't let her down.

See effective ways to train and correct your dog's behavior.

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“Lol, I'm not so sure about dominance training, but I think I use some sort of informal form of it. My dog's been trained positively, using a clicker but sometimes when he's acting up I'll stare him down to let him know I'm upset with him and he needs to behave himself. And for the most part it works.” — treefearie07, Nov 05 2008

“dogs don't understand the meaning of dominance. all their actions are due to instinctual reactions. thinking in terms of human understanding of dominance, emotions get in the way. you have more of a chance getting upset at a dog you're training if you think the dog is showing "dominance". if you this, you end up countering the "dominating" behavior the dog is showing you which is not what's happening. dog's can't comprehend what they do the way humans comprehend. ” — kaygodogtrai..., Oct 29 2008

“Dominance has so many pitfalls. If your dog is really headstrong, he may not take kindly to your tactics and up his own ante. At best, he may obey only when he perceives that you're within striking distance. But the worst is that he doesn't respect you, just fears you. And he really doesn't learn to "be good" just avoids "being bad." ” — pcarpenter, Oct 23 2008

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